Judge Pushes Pause Button in Revere, Boston Casino Lawsuit Showdown

If the lawsuits against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) over the Wynn casino license were viewed as an athletic contest, then last Thursday’s hearing in Suffolk Superior Court was simply the coin toss.

And the coin seemed to have landed on its side.

And there’s an entire game left to play.

The only action that came out of the highly-anticipated hearing on July 9 was that Judge Janet Sanders allowed all cases to continue, but suspended all activity on those cases – including discovery activities such as the subpoenas Boston issued in regards to fraud allegations last week – until another hearing on Sept. 22.

“I am staying all discovery,” said the judge. “Without making any comments on the merits of the cases, discovery should not happen until we know what plaintiffs survive and what part of their cases continue…Revere made good points about continuing to compile the administrative record. I am staying discovery, though, in that case too.”

The hearing was initially only to be about Boston’s lawsuit, but in the end all parties suing the MGC – including the City of Revere – were called to be present.

Somerville, unlike the others, has agreed to put its case on pause until the Wynn environmental process is completed. Until that action occurs, its case will be on hold.

That hearing will likely be moved though, as it falls on a Jewish holiday. Though Mohegan Sun had retained a lawyer from Foley & Hoag to represent it and Revere’s case, Revere had it’s own legal team in the court on Thursday. That including City Solicitor Paul Capizzi, Outside attorney Jim Cipoletta and Revere’s casino specialist, attorney Brian Falk – among others.